Samsung and Mozilla to develop next Android web browser engine

Add Samsung and Mozilla to develop next Android web browser engine

KOREAN HARDWARE MAKER Samsung and software developer Mozilla announced plans on Wednesday to jointly develop a web browser engine designed for Android and the ARM architecture. The new engine, dubbed Servo, will be designed with powerful Android devices in mind, and will be written to take advantage of multi-core processors and next generation mobile technology. Mozilla explained that Servo will be its attempt to rebuild the browser "from the ground up on modern hardware, rethinking old assumptions along the way". Mozilla said that Servo will be written in its new systems language called Rust, which with v0.6 making its debut today is still in its early stages. Mozilla said, "It is intended to fill many of the same niches that C++ has over the past decades, with efficient high-level, multi-paradigm abstractions, and offers precise control over hardware resources. "But beyond that, it is *safe by default*, preventing entire classes of memory management errors that lead to crashes and security vulnerabilities. Rust also features lightweight concurrency primitives that make it easy for programmers to leverage the power of the many CPU cores available on current and future computing platforms." While Mozilla partnering with Samsung might seem like an odd twosome, a Samsung spokesperson said that it is interested in the project because it is "investigating various new technologies to innovate legacy products". "This collaboration will bring an opportunity to open a new era of future web experience," it added. Mozilla is encouraging developers to get involves with Rust, and there are plenty of details on how to do so at its website. µ

New Source: www.theinquirer.net